FRIDAY 18 APRIL: Something of a Brit rave institution, Bugged Out has teetered from venue to venue over the years, setting up residence in some of the most infamous party destinations this country has to offer. Whilst arguably the most renowned of these junctures was their tenure in Nation in the late nineties, Sankeys was where the legend first brewed and their recent return on a monthly basis has a certain air of charm about it, even if the venue's new modified image is slightly at odds with the viva la acid house manifesto so intently pursued by the Buggers. One other area of change is the music policy, where genre-bending musical versatility defined them previously there's now a more partisan dedication to the sweltering electro-tech of messrs Alkan, Tiga and Kitten, reflected in the unilateral line-up tonight. A necessary evolution in light of the way the club's moved forward, but being a veteran of the three-pronged carnage they used to whip up at Nation, a slightly sad one.

That said, tonight's line-up is boastful of just exactly where the club is now heading, with old fave Justin Robertson accompanied by man on the tip of everyone's tongue, Claude von Stroke. Stroke's chunky funky blend of scattershot techno and warped house is keeping the crowd grooving intently, the standard template of house hissing and fizzing with the hallmarks of a man with a very unique identity. Whilst not the most impressive DJ technically, Stroke’s measured grapple of the groove means that his wide ranging leftfield palette of samples breathes new found life into the four-four chug, and it's not hard to see why the producer with his tongue so firmly in his cheek seduced clubland last year. By the time the mournful chords of his ever growing melancholy monster 'Who's afraid of Detroit' close his set it's another growling notch on the CV of a man continuing his stratospheric rise. Justin Robertson follows on, notching the intensity up and blasting through some fine electro, but he's usurped not only by Stroke, but by the pretender to the throne who follows afterwards, Brendan Long. Brendan Long has made the mythical progression from flyer boy to resident DJ in little over three years, and on tonight's evidence it not hard to understand why. Blasting an octane charged blend of Teutonic techno and earth shattering electro, Long leaves no prisoners in a sweltering barricade of filth which rounds off the evening and confirms why the Buggers hold him in such high regard. The crowd are a sea of smiling, sweaty and downright chuffed dancers, spilling out onto the Manchester streets a little roughed up from their evening’s fun, which is exactly what they should be. Viva la Bugged Out!

Words: Jimmy Coultas